My NCLEX experience. Passed in 75 Q's- used UWorld almost exclusively

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Hello all! First off, I want to thank this specific forum "NCLEX Exam & Programs" because without it I would have never even known about UWorld. Scary thought.

Before I tell you about my experience with studying for NCLEX and passing, here are some little things about me to make this post more relatable: I was enrolled in a bachelors program in the US. I was not a straight A nursing student. I got mostly B's, a couple A's and one C (definitely could have received a B, possibly even an A in this one particular class, but I slacked off like a fool). Even though I wasn't a straight A student, I was far from being a student who was constantly drowning and barely passing- so I was just the average Jane, really. I took NCLEX studying pretty seriously, which lead me to pushing back my date 10 days from the original date I had scheduled, and stalking this site to see what helped people the most- which lead me to none other than UWorld.

I purchased a one month UWorld subscription on May 20th and took my test yesterday on June 15th. I completed 1,525 questions out of the 1,896 questions available from UWorld. I answered 62% of the questions correctly which placed me in the 85th percentile. I did a MINIMUM of 40 questions per day, and a max of 100 questions per day (I know 40 doesn't sound like a lot, but 40 questions for me was equivalent to two hours of studying because I read the rationales very carefully). There were two days when I was busy all day and didn't do any questions. I say I used UWorld "almost" exclusively because my school had us take Hurst review mandatorily; however we had the review in the beginning of April and I only glanced through the book a couple times after the review. Hurst is a good content review, but as far as content goes, UWorld's rationales were much more pertinent to the actual NCLEX exam than Hurst content- plus UWorld is a fraction of the cost. There were numerous questions I answered on NCLEX that I wouldn't have known the answer to if I hadn't used UWorld. I will also say that UWorld's SATA questions were very similar to NCLEX's, if not harder. And UWorld's priority questions were WAY harder than NCLEX's... On NCLEX, a lot of my priority questions seemed to have three distinct wrong answers and one that was obviously right. On UWorld I was always stuck between two and wanted to throw my laptop at a wall when I got it wrong. Can't stress enough how helpful UWorld was to me.

As for my NCLEX experience- it wasn't ENTIRELY awful. The employees at the Pearson center were very friendly and super encouraging- I got there an hour before my test and they let me take it right away instead of waiting. I had around 25 SATA- at one point I had SIX in a row O_O. Lots of priority questions, a few pharm questions (which none of my friends seemed to have)- no audio, math, or put in order. As for telling you the content I had to answer, it would be pointless because NCLEX is SOdifferent for everyone. I talked with some friends who took it before me and the content we answered couldn't have been any more different. If you're scared of SATA- you need UWorld. So many SATA questions on UWorld. I actually became quite comfortable with them and they didn't faze me on NCLEX. For the first 20 questions I was freaking out because the questions seemed too easy and I had noise canceling headphones on- which made me able to hear my own severe palpitations- but after I got 6 high level SATA questions in a row around question 40, I started to feel a little bit more relaxed. My test shut off at 75 questions and the last question I answered was also a SATA. There are plenty of naysayers who will tell you that the type of questions you get mean nothing, but I have yet to talk to anyone who's been bombarded with SATA and priority questions and failed at 75 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. I left the testing center in higher spirits than I anticipated. Obviously, it's near impossible to walk out of NCLEX with complete confidence, but I at least wasn't shaking in fear like I expected I would be! Definitely keep yourself as busy as possible afterward... I went out last night with my boyfriend and some friends, but today he has been at work and I have had nothing to do! Slowest day of my life, but worth the wait! Oh. And I should mention I live in Illinois- took my test at 12:45 PM, left the testing center at 2:00 PM on the dot, and had my results posted on continentaltesting.net at 3:28 PM today.

I hope someone was able to find this post helpful and goes on to pass NCLEX like a champ.

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CONGRATULATIONS :up:

Its true that UWorld builds up your tolerance to SATAs. after doing so many high level SATAs for 2 months before my exam after awhile they didn't phase me.

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I absolutely agree, Ackeem! It was just like doing another day on UWorld during my exam!

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Couldn't agree more. I also used Uworld and passed in 75. I would say at least 60% of my nclex consisted of SATA and like you, I would not have known the answers to some of them if it had not been for Uworld.

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It's funny that you guys say this. I have been doing UWorld for a few weeks now. My exam is on Wednesday and I have around 400 questions left (won't be able to finish them all). But I tell you what, I actually look forward to the SATA now cause I seem to always get those right. UWorld has been so unbelievably helpful. I feel my knowledge has increased like 10 fold. Thanks for your post. Gave me tons of encouragement for my exam on Wednesday!!!

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You should be well prepared, then! I only did about 950 or so uworld questions and passed :)

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Specializes in Critical Care, ER, Cath lab.

Uworld is the best! I finished school with a 3.66 GPA while working 60-80 hours a week as a FF/paramedic. Passed at 75 questions and 15 of those were SATA. I've started recommending Uworld to everyone who asks about my NCLEX experience!

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It's funny that you guys say this. I have been doing UWorld for a few weeks now. My exam is on Wednesday and I have around 400 questions left (won't be able to finish them all). But I tell you what, I actually look forward to the SATA now cause I seem to always get those right. UWorld has been so unbelievably helpful. I feel my knowledge has increased like 10 fold. Thanks for your post. Gave me tons of encouragement for my exam on Wednesday!!!

Testing Wednesday as well! I did about 1400 of the UWorld questions with a 59%, finished the NCLEX mastery app, and about 400 other questions with a friend. I agree that it has helped a lot with SATA. Good luck!

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Thank you! Good luck to you too!!!! Two more days!!!

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Good luck to all of you! Keep me posted. :)

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It's funny that you guys say this. I have been doing UWorld for a few weeks now. My exam is on Wednesday and I have around 400 questions left (won't be able to finish them all). But I tell you what, I actually look forward to the SATA now cause I seem to always get those right. UWorld has been so unbelievably helpful. I feel my knowledge has increased like 10 fold. Thanks for your post. Gave me tons of encouragement for my exam on Wednesday!!!

I hope you do well tomorrow! You are exceptionally prepared and I am sure you will excel through the exam. Let us know about your experience! :)

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Do you guys think it would be helpful to buy a 6month subscription to Uworld and do 50-100 questions daily? I'm not an A student, more of a B student.

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